Knot Too Strong
by reminiscent-afterthought
Summary: Side story to Desperation. What do you do when you find out your best friend is your worst enemy? Even worse, she's trying to kill you. How can you say she's not the person she used to be, or if there's any humanity left? Izumi's POV
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note**

This isn't an actual story per say. It's set in the Desperation universe, and is more of a reflection from Izumi's POV.

Alright, this does contain spoilers for Desperation, but it's not a big deal since most of what it spoils is already spoilt if you've watched Frontier, though the take is slightly different, or else has already been mentioned. Most of which that is neither isn't really a major plot point, either something to nudge the plot in the right direction or something random I threw in. I wasn't even planning on writing this till Desperation got up to speed, but...ya know, usual story.

And if you haven't read Desperation, note that Kouichi is a girl in there.

Should be short. Emphasis on the short there, last time I said that, turned out to be ten chapters long and I still haven't finished.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Digimon or any of its characters. I do own the Desperation universe though.

* * *

**Knot Too Strong**

Side story to Desperation. What do you do when you find out your best friend is your worst enemy? Even worse, she's trying to kill you. How can you say she's not the person she used to be, or if there's any humanity left? Izumi's POV

Izumi O/Zoe & Kouichi K/Koichi

Rating: T

Genre/s: Drama/Friendship

* * *

**Chapter 1**

When I first met her, it was like I was drawn to her somehow. Perhaps her unique personality in retrospect to the other girls I knew from Jingumae with their snobbish attitudes and the quick rejection should they find someone not on the same step as them. She was different; she certainly was not as outspoken as them, seeing as her voice was particularly soft, so much so that it either had to be pin drop silent, or your hearing had to be quite sharp, to be able to hear her if she spoke anything less than a normal speaking tone.

She certainly didn't seem to mind my own personality, or my ancestry. In fact, she told me once that she admired me for them both. She stuck up for me, even when others had formed the preconception that she would be either too shy or too scared to interfere. It simply showed how easily they misunderstood her, unable to see the strength and power which lay behind those dark eyes and the grace of her movement.

Quiet and shy are two different things, though the words are commonly used in conjunction with one another. As such, some people have the habit of assuming that a naturally quiet person is shy as well, and shyness is almost always, especially with the more outspoken people, taken to be a sign of weakness.

Kouichi is probably a living contradiction to that assumption.

She was reluctant at first, and I was confused at that, since she had made it quite clear it wasn't because of me. Till I stumbled upon the problem.

But a friend is still a friend, and that mutual connection is all that is needed. So eventually we bypassed the barrier, and for a time, remained inseparable.

But then things started changing again.

It began with her grandmother's death. Then she just started acting a bit...odd. Now, I had only known her for less than a month, but time is pretty much irrelevant in a true friendship, so I knew her behaviour wasn't normal, even if the changes were too subtle for anyone else to pick up. She used to skip lunch quite often, but afterwards, it had become a strange occurrence to see her during the break. But the thing that worried me the most was the fact that she always bottled up her emotions, and looked as though she was soon reaching breaking point.

I wondered about that, till I went to her apartment one day and met her mother. Then I gained an atom more of understanding; she didn't want to be a burden. I remembered the kids that crowded around her, the ones that saw her like an older sister; she was the stem that had to stay straight to support the leaves and flower. Not exactly the best analogy, but then again, that's her strong point, not mine. Regardless, she listened when they needed to talk, helped when they needed it, but for the most part remained indiscreet to her surroundings, blending in to them rather than standing out.

Eventually, I got an answer out of her, and it was lucky I caught the opportunity, or else she would have been roadkill.

It was a shock to be sure, that Kouji was her brother, and her twin at that. And not only that, that the father that left her and her mother, the one she had given up yearning and searching for after her mother's tears, and to some extent, harboured negativity for, was that close. I can't say I understood, it was more something out of a movie than reality, but she had the proof. Not that she needed it, I trusted her without it.

But that made things rather difficult for her. It wasn't like she could go straight up to the guy and tell them: "Hi, I'm your twin sister that you didn't know you had." That wouldn't work out too well, especially seeing as Kouji then was an extremely suspicious person by nature.

And then, there was something more she wasn't telling me.

I got the call for the Digital World later that same day, within twenty minutes in fact, and soon after, I joined the team and obtained the Spirits of Wind. They made me feel important, like my uniqueness was a strength as opposed to a weakness, just as Kouichi had said. I made new friends, albeit all boys, but in her absence, something was still missing.

Then she joined us, and I was thrilled. Till I realised this wasn't the same person I knew.

It was hard to tell, especially since the others knew nothing about her. But two things tipped me off. The first was the fact that she seemed far more at ease around Kouji than she had in the real world, though I had assumed she was simply getting over the shock seeing as though she still kept her distance as far as was politely possible. But the other reason was far more profound, and by far warranted a sense of concern.

She had kept them hidden for quite awhile, never exactly looking at us straight in the eye. Takuya, being the only other to whom she seemed remotely familiar, Kouji having forgotten their one and only meeting, simply took that as shyness, but knowing her not to be so, I wondered.

Then, almost unexpectedly, I saw her eyes, or rather, a reflection of them. I don't think she had noticed; we were after all flying at the time, but we had passed over a body of water when I caught sight of her reflection, and the eyes almost black with the darkness that tainted it.

I didn't react visibly, which turned out later to be extremely fortunate. Had I blown her cover in mid air, god knows what would have happened to the two of us, despite her being unable to fly.

I wondered every moment I could, but it seemed with entering the Continent of Darkness, we had run into problem after problem, and not all of them digimon related. Even then, as we dealt with each new obstacle, none of us ever considered we had walked straight into a trap. That is, till it was sprung.

We then finally understood why we had only seen nine of the ten legendary warriors. Why the warrior of darkness had been strangely absent. Why our group seemed to be tearing apart even as it came closer together.

My best friend was my worst enemy.

The others saw her as a traitor or a spy; they had no emotional connection to her, or her to them. Me on the other hand, I had both. And Kouji had one of the two as well, which served to complicate matters as far as Kouichi was concerned. Because whatever had caused her to change, I refused to called the Warrior of Darkness named Duskmon the human name of my first, and best, friend.

Even as the fighting broke out. Even as we were horribly outmatched against that power, despite as we fought back, utilising every opportunity we could, combining our attacks and our strength while she remained alone.

We fought back, the others simply because she was an enemy which needed to be taken down. But for me, it was different, she was a friend drowning in the sea of darkness I saw beyond her eyes. She was a friend that needed saving.

We lost, miserably. But she hadn't won either. She had fought us, and had beaten us. But for herself, she had gained nothing. The emotionless expression, the coldness that masked confusion, it all led me to think that there was far more going on that met the eye.

It had seemed that within the span of five minutes, she had forgotten every event which had transpired for weeks before. Like each memory had passed through the black hole, never to be seen again. The facade of the human girl turned pawn of darkness had gone, and with it, whatever resemblance this...I can't call her a monster, despite how much I wished it. She was, and still is, my best friend, even when I had almost lost sight of her, for good.

The others were angered; naturally enough, she had betrayed our trust. But she hadn't, because I refused to believe them to be the same: Kouichi and Duskmon, or at least until far later.

Regardless, that fight was unlike any I had ever seen, and probably unlike anything I would ever see again. Five against one, and we were still clearly outmatched, even as it seemed Duskmon was simply playing with us. Like we were flies caught in his web, with her the spider. Our teamwork was easily dismantled, though that could have been already weakened due to the strain which had steadily accumulated. The tension was at breaking point by then, so it was only a matter of time till the string snapped.

It was only later that I realised the same thing had happened to her. When Kouji told us of their second encounter, where it seemed the memories, as well as the emotions which accompanied them, swam up to the surface only to be pushed down by an onslaught of darkness and the will of the puppeteer to whom she was bound. The raw emotion that burst forth, contrary to the controlled, and often manipulated so that no-one else was affected, display which was more common with her in the human world.

But the truth was still hidden. She couldn't say, and he didn't know. I was the only one who could tell him, tell Kouji the truth, in the hopes that he could save her while I could not.

But I couldn't. Because I had promised her I wouldn't. And she was, despite all, yet to betray my trust.

After all, I had known she would one day snap. I just hadn't imagined it would be like this.


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Notes**

Notes from the previous chapter still apply.

Yami no Kokoro means 'Heart of Darkness', kokoro literally meaning heart/mind/soul, and you're probably familiar with Yami, especially if you've seen Yu Gi Oh.

Luckily this one did remain short.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Digimon or any of its characters. I do own the Desperation universe though.

Anyway, enjoy, and R&R readers and see you all next update.

* * *

**Knot Too Strong**

Side story to Desperation. What do you do when you find out your best friend is your worst enemy? Even worse, she's trying to kill you. How can you say she's not the person she used to be, or if there's any humanity left? Izumi's POV

Izumi O/Zoe & Kouichi K/Koichi

Rating: T

Genre/s: Drama/Friendship

* * *

**Chapter 2**

The first encounter with Duskmon was a strange one to be sure, from the point of view of any who had been thinking logically about the encounter. Considering the fact that she had spent weeks with us, and with me, more, she knew our weaknesses. Even without memory, an opponent's weakness is a warrior's intuition. Any visible defect, we'd pick it apart, so long as it doesn't stoop below the level of honour most warriors maintain, and sometimes, further, generally in the cases either the honour is nonexistent or the circumstances make it impossible to maintain.

Before, perhaps, I would not have understood that. But now I was a Legendary Warrior, the Warrior of Wind, and that knowledge came with the instincts that were bestowed upon me after my first evolution into Fairymon, when I first found the digimon part of me. The others understood as well, having gone through the same process, though being a martial artist, it was possible, and in fact probable, that Kouji had already been aware of that fact.

So it made sense for Cherubimon's warriors to be too. Only, their honour as a warrior did in no way compel them to fight fair, if the "holding us hostage" scene was any indication. Duskmon on the other hand, despite being well acquainted with our weaknesses, and thus in prime position to exploit them, made no obvious move to do so. In fact, she made no move to attack at all.

Which in the end turned out to be a really effective strategy. Because by either dodging or redirecting our attacks, she made us attack each other. Attacks rocketed off course, striking the ally instead of enemy, but what struck me as odd, excluding of course the way it ended, was while she refrained from attacking any of us head on till the very end, she didn't hesitate to kill and scan one of her own allies.

That alone gave me the hope that the human buried deep in the darkness still existed.

What was even stranger was when we were down, and she had the opportunity to finish us off, she didn't do so. Or at least until Takuya did the extremely idiotic thing and strike his enemy with their back turned.

The fire tsunami, to the shock of all witnesses, did nothing, simply being absorbed into the dark digimon as though it were a black hole. Takuya was, for the first time that we had known him, struck speechless, the shock readily turning into fear of his life when he discovered the crimson sword of his adversary on its downward swing, aimed right for his upper chest.

The weakest part of most digimon are their eyes, as all but those of dark habitat rely heavily on the sense of sight, but if you're looking for a quick and easy injury, it differs from person to person. For me, in Fairymon or Shutumon's form, my stomach would be the weakest, lacking armour to protect it, however for Takuya, as Vritramon, it was the middle of his back, where the two wings melded into his flesh above the spine.

His frontal area, especially the upper chest, was well guarded with the heavy armour, and yet that was the target of the attack. Perhaps the source could have pierced the armour, perhaps not, though it most certainly would not be a good idea to test that by putting someone's life on the line.

So while the counterattack was not entirely unexpected, the target was, seeing as it was essentially a hit or miss situation. She could have easily vaulted over the prone form and slashed at the back, crippling his wings, and if aimed in the right place, permanently damaging his spine or even killing him. And yet the sword was aimed at the chest, the one place, save the arms, more fortified against attack than all else. An honourable move indeed, despite the dishonour which had spurred her into action.

It was rather ironic, the enemy attacking with honour while the ally forged it.

But that didn't stop the sword's downward descent. I was frozen, and from what I could see, Takuya was too. The sword was just inches from perturbing his chest, his eyes squeezed shut as if to block out the sight of impending death, and then suddenly the eyes flew open as the shocked cries echoed.

Because the sword had struck, but not its target. Instead, it had slashed through Garrmon unprotected back.

We were all shocked, especially Takuya, though in all honesty that was to be expected. What was _not_ to be expected however was Duskmon's reaction to the interception.

It was as though a part of my friend still remained, and was reaching out, calling out to the light.

No-one moved. Later, I wish sometimes that I had, if only to prevent things from going further out of control, but I just couldn't interfere, as if my own body turned traitor on me upon that moment of vulnerability.

Then she was gone. And I had lost the opportunity.

I wondered whether I had done the right thing later on, especially as time wore on and things became more and more complicated. The other warriors were eventually taken down, but darkness remained, and endured, always vanishing into the shadows of her own domain, even when she had many an opportunity to destroy us forever.

She never did. She always held back. And that was probably the only reason we, all of us, but especially Kouji, were still alive today.

I suppose, when knowing a human heart exists beneath the black taint, one wonders whether that humanity is still in reach. Myself, I was afraid that one day, she would be too far gone, that she wouldn't hold back, and then it'd be all over.

I'd lose my best friend for good.

And then there was her family: her mother, Kouichi was all she had left, Kouji, even if he had then not known of her existence, their father, despite his reasons, the neighbourhood kids who looked up to her like an older sister and were so close at some points that you probably could call them all family...I personally think she's left her mark in more places than she realises. Though she says the same can be said for everyone. And it's probably true; they generally are, though most of her philosophies are less than orthodox.

I thought Duskmon's near kills was the worst of it, till Cherubimon gave her the tainted beast spirit and forced a beast evolution. If Duskmon was bad, Velgemon was pure evil. While the human warrior's heart was downed in darkness, this embodiment of death itself _had_ no heart, and whatever humanity that had still remained was banished from existence. There was no emotion, no hesitation...nothing save raw, undiluted power. Even Cherubimon himself feared that beast, and Kouji would have been bird's prey, not to mention the rest of us, if it wasn't for Ophanimon's timely intervention.

Duskmon's reign, or I should probably say Lucemon's 'behind the scenes' reign considering he was the one who had attributed in the corruption of Cherubimon, and in turn, Kouichi, eventually ended, though it left its scars in all of us, some of us more than others. Thankfully, our friendship hadn't suffered; in fact, I think it strengthened as it tested our limits at friends each time our paths crossed. And she didn't exactly mind my own orthodox ways to pound some sense into a stubborn friend once that particular chapter came to a close. And no, I didn't get physical, if that's what you're thinking.

The relationship between the two siblings took a while to gain its footing after all that had happened, but what with Kouji playing the protective twin role and protecting his sister from Cherubimon's attack to Kouichi knocking some sense into him (literally) in the Yami no Kokoro when the fragile ties holding us together were strained to the upmost, they managed to establish a pretty close bond, from which it appeared as though they had always been together.

In the end, all that served to bring us closer together, and our adventures in the Digital World are experiences that we will never forget, despite the many bittersweet memories, and some of which downright painful (now why do I seem to recall Takuya saying that?). We've all changed a lot since then, at some points to the extent that we are unrecognizable in behaviour, but still, the shadows of our pasts follow in attempts to repeat themselves.

Maybe not to the same person or in the same circumstances, but you'll always find someone, somewhere, who's nearing breaking point. Someone, who's changing, not always for the better. Someone, who's losing their humanity.

Different times, different stories...I just hope their stories, like this one, ends with a happy ending, even if it is bittersweet. After all, if it hadn't been for the pain which knitted us together, I doubt we'd be as inseparable as we are today.


End file.
